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People Shocked in Times Square (Gothamist)

With this kind of winter weather, it means one thing: Be careful of where you walk, because there may be reactions between snow-melting chemicals and various electrical devices. Everyone remembers East Village resident Jodie Lane, whose 2003 electrocution death by way of faulty, exposed wires as she was walking her dogs on East 11th Street made people realize how dangerous the snow can be. Yesterday, a metal plate on 42nd Street became electrified, shocking four people. Two teenaged girls were shocked, but didn’t say anything, and as WABC 7 reported, “That was a mistake. Later, two more people walked on the plate, and were shocked seriously enough that they couldn’t move, had muscle spasms and had to be taken to the hospital.” The second two people included a young model whose mother thought she was “being silly” when she fell to the ground. Lesson 1: Call 311 if there’s an electrified service box. Lesson 2: Believe your friends and family when they say they’ve been shocked. Con Ed said that they were replacing the wires on Sunday. You can also call Con Ed directly with problems – 1-800-76-CON-ED. And an East Village resident who comforted Lane as she died is suing Con Ed for negligence of not covering the live wire with insulation. Siobhan Cronin says that she continued to hold Lane even though she felt a “tingling feeling” herself and says that people barrage her with questions like, “Why didn’t you do this? Why didn’t you do that?”